My World
The world according to me!Archive for December, 2008
Happy New Year
Of course I’m going to make resolutions this year. It’s a tradition. I know some people think the process is silly because most of us break them by January 2nd, but I think the start of the new year will always hold the potential for new beginnings.
You can argue that every new day offers the same possibilities, and you’ll be right. However a new year means so much more.
So however you plan to greet the new year, and whether you set resolutions or not, I hope you have a happy one.
Keep Fit
I love infomercials. It’s an early morning ritual for me, turn on the TV find something interesting to watch, mostly infomercials. However I’m not just watching any kind of infomercial, mostly the fitness ones.
I’ve had issues with my weight for as long as I know myself. So I’m drawn to the “fix it” premise behind these programmes. To be honest I love the hype and the potential for doing something for yourself, and it be something healthy. Also the makeover potential appeals to me.
However I’m picky about the type of exercise infomercials I like. First and foremost, I love toys: balls, steps, rubber bands and trampolines. Anything to make the work seem more like fun I’m into. Also I believe in cardio/ weight programmes are the best for weight loss and all round health.
Don’t get me wrong, I hate gadgets that are too big, and look cheaply made. The “toys” have to be practical, and not too bulky or mechanical. So mini-steppers (which we’ve had in my house), ab-machines or waist trimmers are out.
The programme has to make sense. I hate the gimmicky shows that obviously don’t. Don’t tell me I’ll lose weight by breathing and pulsing various muscles, I won’t buy it.
About My 50 Books in One Year Reading Challenge
I’m actually concerned about books like The Chrysalids and Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, both are on my reading list. My concerns with the former; I’m not a big Science Fiction lover, and with the latter; I’ve tried reading it, twice. I just don’t relate to her depression, or something.
Also I’m not entertaining Tom Jones until I’ve trained my reading muscles. The book is fun (I started it), but it’s soo long. So Atlas Shrugged will get the same treatment, that and I’m not sure I’m into Ayn Rand’s Objectivisim.
I’m also partial to fiction, so biographies may be out.
But all isn’t lost. I re-read Perfectly Correct in one day (26 Dec ’08). So I’m trying to condition my reading muscles. So tomorrow I should finish Inheritance of Lost, and re-read Memoirs of a Geshia. I’d started Fahrenheit 451, but I think I should save it for the challenge.
I’m looking forward to Edith Wharton’s The Age of Innocence because The House of Mirth is one of my favourite books. I’m similarly excited to read The Portrait of a Lady, because Henry James’ style has been compared to Wharton’s. I’ve read Daisy Miller, and enjoyed it.
All in all, I think I’m really looking forward to this challenge. I actually can’t wait for 2009.
Merry, merry Christmas All Yuh!
I’ve been kinda grinchy these few days, buh sey wha, it’s Christmas. So merry Christmas all yuh! I wish yuh love, happiness and God’s richest blessings.
In Trinidad and Tobago our Christmas music is parang. We have a queen, and her name is Daisy Voisin. Daisy left us some time ago, but her voice lives on.
I selected the above video because I wanted you to see what she looks like. Below is the link to my favourite Daisy song:
Living In a Fast Car
These days once it rains in sweet T&T, it’s flooding. Constant rains create overly saturated grounds, and with it landslips, collapsing homes and highways, mud everywhere and death. Which all amounts to a frustrating reality for residents.
So any car I buying ( if I was in the market for a car) would be a Sport Utility Vehicle. With all my eco-friendly ambitions, reality suggests a sedan just ent go cut it in Trinidad no more. I want a REAL SUV, with manual transmission and 4-wheel drive to boot.
So I was having a “what if” conversation with my disrespectful brother this weekend, and asked what kind of vehicle he’d suggest for me. The first thing he did was veto, my dreams of balancing a clutch. According to him, I (who is licensed to drive a car with manual transmission) am not a “real” driver and should stick to automatic.
Secondly, he said, since I’m not a car person, translation: don’t know or give a shit ’bout them, should buy a vehicle local mechanics are familiar with. In other words, forget about the European cars.
So what does my rude brother recommend?
- Hyundai Tucson
- Suzuki Vitara
- Kia Sportage
- RAV4 (my fav)
Well yes, “pull up to my bumper babay.”
Florence Ballard Makes Me Cry
She was an original member of The Supremes. She had a fabulous voice, and an addiction to alcohol.
The former could have saved her, the latter helped ruin her career.
I remember reading a biography about Diane Ross, and it really painted her as a mean person. Life could hardly be so black and white. But it’s clear her relationship with Flo was strained.
But I just finished watching Dreamgirls, and it made me cry. Florence’s life was so hard.
But it made me want to hear her voice, and it’s good. It could have been showcased more. If you do a search on Youtube, you’ll have a lot of options. The best is her cover of “I Think I Going Out Of My Head”. It’s great.
So sad, so sad. Her life, but her voice so lovely. Take a listen if you will.
On the 50 Books Challenge:
I’ll start with “Love in a Time of Cholera”. Considering these days I trying not to write another Zimbabwe/Cholera/ Mugabe story in the news, I think it’s a fitting start.
So come New Year’s I’ll be reading that.
50 books for 2009: The Reading Challenge
Ok if’ you’ve taken notice of my LibraryThing list at the side of my blog, you’ll see I’ve been neglecting my reading. The Inheritance of Lost has been marked “Currently Reading” for far too long. The funny thing is that it’s actually going well. But I’ve had a bit of distractions on the home front that’s keeping me from doing “me” things. Got to work on that.
Anyway I discovered the 50 book challenge on LibraryThing (my nerdy pleasure site), and I think I’m going to try it. I used to read a lot, and quickly. I need to return to that; TV is such a poor replacement.
I have a few options in my library at home, and my roommate has some in hers, plus there’s the national library. So I think I’ll have enough books.
So I’ll keep you posted. I know it’ll be hard, with my triathlon training and crazy job and all, but we’ll see. Life is about challenges anyway.
Check out my Slide Show!
These are the shots from my tour of Belmont. So you could see some of the things I was talking about. More importantly, you’ll see the fretwork I fell in love with.
The Historic Tour of Belmont
Last Sunday my friend and I went on the Historical Tour of Belmont put on by the National Museum of Trinidad & Tobago. It was great. It was so good to see Belmont with an informed eye. I spent two years travelling in an out of Belmont daily when I did Sixth Form in St. Francois, and wasn’t appropriately appreciative of it’s beauty.
We learned about the Africans who came as free men to Trinidad; a lot of them settled in Belmont. The Mandigos, Ibos and Radas came as artisens, masons: literate free men who lived and thrived in one of Port-of-Spain’s first suburbs.
We looked at the wonderful fretwork, some of these men and their ancestors worked on. Fretwork is like a wooden filigree accent you put on your roof or window. It adds a lovely design element to your house and is a hallmark of Colonial architecture.
My World 